LONDON — Two people were stabbed Wednesday in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an antisemitic attack.
Counterterror police are investigating whether the stabbings are linked to a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the city.
Political leaders condemned the stabbing, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying that ”attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.”
The security organization Shomrim said a suspect “was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and attempting to stab Jewish members of the public” on Wednesday morning.
It said the suspect was detained by Shomrim members before being arrested by police, who used a stun gun on the man.
The Metropolitan Police said the victims, a man in his 30s and one in his 70s, were hospitalized in stable condition. The force said the suspect also tried to stab police officers but none were injured.
Counterterror detectives are leading the investigation, but it has not been declared an act of terrorism.
Police said they are working to establish the nationality and background of the suspect, and Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said “investigators are considering all possible motives.”
The incident follows arson attacks in recent weeks targeting Jewish sites in London, including a charity’s ambulances in Golders Green and a synagogue a few miles away.
“It happens in Israel, but happening on our own doorstep, of course it’s shocking,” said Golders Green resident Moishe Grunfeld. “I have kids, I have grandchildren.”
Britain’s Jewish community is long-established but tiny as a percentage of the population, numbering about 300,000. The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicenters, home to kosher restaurants, multiple Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues, as well as large Asian and Middle Eastern communities.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that “London’s Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks.
“There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society,” he said.
Counterterror officers are investigating whether the arson attacks were the work of Iranian proxies.
No one was injured in the arson incidents, which all happened within a few miles of each other. Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged.
Britain’s chief rabbi has said that U.K. Jews are facing a campaign of violence and intimidation.
The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war, according to the Community Security Trust. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.
In October 2025, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and stabbed one person to death. Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.
Lawless writes for the Associated Press.
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